Porsche 911 Carrera S pays tribute to 1965 model

A pair of Porsche 911 Carrera S coupes have been commissioned to pay homage to one of the first Porsche 911 units sold in Australia, and one unit will each go to the brand’s dealers in Melbourne and southern Sydney. The specification of the modern duo was inspired by that of the original 1965 911, which is finished in Stone Grey and equipped with a five-speed manual transmission.

The colour palette in the modern Porsche line-up no longer has the option of Stone Grey, though it has been determined that Crayon is its closest present-day equivalent, and this is the colour chosen for the modern Carrera S duo. Here, the 992-generation cars are specified with Carrera Exclusive Design wheels measuring 20 inches and 21 inches front and rear respectively, and house black brake calipers.

The modern car here wears Exclusive Manufaktur SportDesign side skirts, body-coloured exterior mirror housings and high-gloss window trim, while inside there are 14-way electrically adjustable sports seats with memory, headrests embossed with the Porsche crest, contrast stitching in Crayon and seat belts in Agave Green.

The illuminated, brushed aluminium door sill guards feature ‘1965 Reimagined’ text, and the classic theme continues with the use of Paldao Dark wood trim.

Both examples of the present-day, 992-generation 911 Carrera S have been specified with the eight-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission. In factory standard guise, the Carrera S produces 450 PS at 6,500 rpm and 530 Nm of torque from 2,300 rpm to 5,000 rpm. The 0-100 km/h sprint is elapsed in 3.7 seconds, and top speed is 306 km/h. For comparison, the first Australian-registered 911 was dyno-tested at 134 hp.

The current owner of the 1965 911, Stewart Kay first saw the car when he met the car’s owner of the time, architect Roy Wilson in the late 1980s, and Kay noticed that it bore much resemblance to the one in the Porsche Museum which he read about in a magazine, which was dubbed the ‘oldest known 911’.

It was then to Kay’s surprise that the chassis number for the car in the Porsche Museum was revealed in the article to be 302503, or exactly 1,000 cars after the one he had just seen in Wilson’s garage in Australia. Kay enquired with the factory via Porsche Cars Australia, who confirmed that the 1965 car he had seen in person was indeed, one of the very first right-hand-drive 911s to have been built.

Kay initially was unsuccessful in persuading Wilson to sell him the car, though the duo renegotiated in 1992 and Kay then took ownership of the 1965 911. In its 23 years, the historically significant rear-engined car had driven more than 136,000 km, though it remained completely original, says Porsche, and it was handed over with its original keys, owner’s manual and complete service books.

Kay remains the owner of the 1965 Neunelfer today, and it is usually housed in a museum at The Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend, South Australia.